Chinese FM calls for building closer SCO community with shared future

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sends a video message to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Day reception held in Beijing, China, on June 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)

BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent a video message on Tuesday to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Day reception on the 20th anniversary of the organization's founding, calling for joint efforts to accelerate the building of a community with a shared future.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has blazed a cooperation and development path that suits the regional conditions and meets the needs of all parties, Wang said.

He made a four-pronged proposal on the future development of the SCO, including setting a new paradigm of a community with a shared future, unleashing new growth drivers for win-win cooperation, promoting mutual learning among civilizations and shouldering new responsibilities of global governance.

"We should inherit and carry forward the Shanghai Spirit, and strengthen the exchange of experience in state governance," he said.

Wang called for remaining united in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and making concerted efforts to crack down on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism.

"We should speed up the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategies of the SCO countries and regional cooperation initiatives, and carry out more cooperation in high-tech fields such as digital economy and artificial intelligence," he said.

On cultural exchanges, Wang said he hoped more exchanges and cooperation could be conducted within such sectors as youth, women, think tanks and the media, with non-governmental friendly institutions playing a greater role.

He also called on the SCO to defend the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and carry forward true multilateralism.